Closure and seal therefor



Q 1934- J. G. LE PERE CLOSURE AND SEAL THEREFOR Filed Sept. 5, 1953 ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 6, 1934 'i'ES PATENT OFFEQE Sealing Corporation,

tion of Illinois Decatur, 111., a corpora- Application September 5, 1933, Serial No. 688,085

5 Claims.

This invention relates to closures for containers such as bottles, jugs, cans and similar receptacles which are provided with necks "and/or nozzles.

The main object of the invention is to provide a tamper proof closure and seal therefor which cannot be removed without breaking the seal.

Tamper proof seals of this general character are old in the art but with the closures in general use heretofore it has been possible with some manipulation to slip the seal or band away from the closure a sufficient distance to permit its removal without detection. Closures of this general character usually employ a cap having a skirt portion provided at its bottom, in which is received a split ring, the ends of which are provided with hook portions. It has been the practice to employ with such rings a locking lever which consists of a Wire formed so as to provide apair of cam loops which engage the hook portions of the ring and which by downward movement serves to draw the hooked ends of the ring toward each other to contract the ring and clamp the bottom of the skirt portion of the cap into locking engagement with the top of the neck or nozzle of the container. In my construction, the operating handle of the lever is formed by twisting together the ends of the wire of which the lever is formed to form a handle adapted to be engaged by the finger of the operator. 7,

One of the main objects of this invention is to provide a closure which includes a lever having an eye portion which is adapted to provide a more efiective and smoother'grip for the fingers of the operator and which also receives therethrough the seal or band which extends about the neck of the container and holds the lever in position to maintain the closure in place.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tamper proof band which may be inserted through the eye of the cap lever and which is well adapted for production at low cost.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tamper proof seal of the character described which includes a band made up of two fiat portions the adjacent ends of which are permanently clinched together and to which is secured a wire of such size as to be readily inserted through the eye of the lever.

prevent the band being slipped downwardly about the neck of the container a sufiicient distance to permit the lever to be operated to remove the closure.

Further and more limited objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds and by reference to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a fragmentary view in side elevation of my improved tamper proof closure applied to the neck of a bottle; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but taken at right angles thereto; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4l of Fig. 1 or Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view partly in section and partly in elevation disclosing a slightly modified form of band; Figs. 6, '7 and 8 are horizontal sectional views showing slightly modified forms of bands which may be used with my improved closure.

Referring now to the drawing, the reference character 1 denotes the neck of a bottle having applied thereto a cap 2 which is provided with a skirt portion 3 having slots 4 therein extending upwardly from the bottom thereof, the metal between the slots being rolled upwardly to form sleeves which receive therethrough a split ring or wire 5, the opposite ends of which are bent outwardly away from each other to provide a pair of hooks 6.

The locking lever which is employed to secure the cap in place is indicated by the reference character 7 and consists of a single piece of wire which is bent to form a pair of cam loops 8 which engage over the hooks 6 respectively. The lower end of the lever 7 is shaped to provide an eye 9, the axis of which is disposed substantially at'right angles to the direction of movement of the lever. By lifting the lever from the position shown in Fig. 1, the cam loops operate in the usual manner to permit the split ring 5 to expand thereby allowing the cap to be removed. When the lever 7 is pressed downwardly to the position shown in Fig. 1, the cam loops operate upon the hooked ends 6 of the split f ring to contract the bottom of the cap upon the neck of the bottle or receptacle.

In order to secure the lever '7 against displacement, I provide a seal or band which is made up of a round wire 10 and a pair of flat strips 11 and 12, the adjacent ends of which are clinched together as at 13. The round wire 10 extends through the eye 9 and is Welded to the strips 11 and 12 at its opposite ends as shown at 14 and 15. The wire 10 is also welded to the eye as an to provide recesses which receive the ends of the round} wire 10 therein so that the strip lies flat against the neck of the container; In Fig. 5, I have disclosed a slightly modified form of band in which the round wire 10 is of slightly difierent shape at the point where it engages the eye. In other respects this form of the invention is identical with that shown in Figs. 1

to 4 inclusive.

In Fig. 6, I have disclosed another modifiedform of band which is made up of. apair of flat strips 16 and 17 which are clinched together as shown at 18, the opposite ends of the strips being straight and welded to the opposite sides of the eye 9.

In Fig. 7, I have disclosed'another modified form of band 19 which is made of one piece of metal, the ends being clinched together as shown at 20 and its loop 21 welded to the opposite sides of the eye 9.

In Fig. 8, there is' disclosed a still further modified form of band which is made of a single piece of small round wire or a thin metal strip 22,

the adjacent ends of which are welded together as shown at 23 and the opposite side of which is welded to the eye 9 as shown at 24.

In all of the forms of the invention disclosed,

the band tightly embraces the neck or nozzle of the receptacle or container and is non-detachably secured to the eye and can be removed from the neck only when severed or broken.

It will also be seen that the band is permanently secured to the lever eye so that it will not be possible to disengage the lever from the band without severing the band. It will also be seen that the axis of the eye is substantially at right angles to the direction of movement of the lever which will enable the operator to obtain a ii-rm grip upon the lever.

It will now be clear that I have provided a tamper proof closure'and seal therefor which will a ccomplish the objects of the invention as hereinbefore stated. It is to be understood that various changes may be made in the shape, size and arrangement of the respective parts without departing from the spirit of my invention; and that the embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are merely illustrative and are not to be considered in a limiting sense, as the invention is limited only in accordance with the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A tamper proof closure for containers of the character described comprising a cap for closing the container and having a skirt portion,

..,a divided ring extending about said skirt portion and having hooked ends disposed adjacent each other, a, lever having a pair of cam loops engaging the hooked ends of said ring, said lever having an eye at its lower end, and a tamper proof band tightly embracing the neck of the container and threaded through said eye.

2. A' tamper proof closure for containers of the character described comprising a cap for closing the container and having a skirt portion,

,a'divided ring extending about said skirt portion and having hooked ends disposed adjacent each other, a lever having a pair of cam loops engaging the hooked ends of said ring, said leverhaving an eye at its lower end, and a tamper proof band. tightly embracing the neck of the container and threaded thru said eye and removable from the container neck only when severed.

3. A tamper proof closure for containers of the character described comprising a cap, a lever operatively secured thereto for securing said cap in place and having an eye at its free end, a tamper proof band tightly embracing the neck of the container and threaded through said eye,

whereby the lever cannot be operated to release ,in place and having an eye at its free end, a

tamper proof band tightly embracing the neck 3115 of the container and extending through said eye, whereby the lever cannot be operated to releasethe cap without breaking said band, the axis of said eye being disposed substantially at right angles to the plane of movement of the lever. i

5. A tamper proof closure for containers of the character described comprising a cap and a lever operatively secured thereto for securing said cap in place and having an eye at its free end, a tamper proof band tightly embracing the neck of the container and threaded thru said eye, said band being formed in one piece and having its ends permanently secured together, whereby the lever cannot be operated to release the capwithout'breaking said band. 136* JOHN G. LE PERE. 

